D.C. Health Care for 2008

Washington, D.C., despite being the nation's capital still experiences a number of health issues. Some of the poorest residents in the city don't receive adequate health coverage. Councilmember David Catania's Healthy D.C. proposal is intended to help provide access to health care for D.C.'s lower income residents, but the proposal is still gridlocked in the legislative process.

Of course, the downside to the Healthy D.C. program is cost. Much of the cost is expected to come from cigarette taxes, a progressive rate on premiums, and a mandated health insurance policy similar to the Massachusett's health mandate.

Washington, D.C. Quality of Care

Of course, there are also positive sides to D.C.'s health climate. Residents of the capitol have the third lowest asthma rates in the country, and they are positioned amongst some of the top hospitals and medical schools in the nation.

At the same time, the rate of uninsured individual is at 14%, putting D.C. well below the national average of 18%.

Copy and paste this code in your blog or site to credit us!

Sources:

The Kaiser Family Foundation, statehealthfacts.org. Data Source: Health Expenditure Data, Health Expenditures by State of Residence, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary, National Health Statistics Group, released September 2007; available at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalHealthExpendData. Additional data was provided from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.